1. Field of the Description
The present description relates, in general, to systems for use in disguising or even hiding support features for a ride vehicle or for a show/display element, and, more particularly, to an assembly that is useful for camouflaging the existence of a slot in a floor or platform through which a rod (or other support element) extends between a drive system (e.g., a bogie traveling on a track) and a supported vehicle or show element.
2. Relevant Background
There are numerous applications where it is desirable to disguise or hide drive mechanisms and techniques used to move an object. For example, amusement park rides are often designed in a thematic manner where ride vehicles are designed to simulate a particular form of transportation, but this illusion is hampered when passengers can readily see an underlying track and support mechanisms. In other cases, a show or display may be presented that includes a show element, such as an animatronic or robotic character or creature, which is designed to appear to be moving under their own power. In actuality, though, the show element may be moved and positioned in a manner similar to the vehicle in the amusement park ride (e.g., the character/creature is moved along a track by a drive mechanism riding on the track).
Some rides and show/display sets attempt to hide the presence of the drive system by providing a platform or floor between much of the drive system and the object that is being moved by the drive system. In the ride example, a passenger vehicle may be supported on one or more poles extending from a bogie riding on a track. A slot is provided in a platform positioned between the bogie/track and the vehicle through which the poles pass. However, the existence of the slot in the platform can give away how the vehicle is supported and moved along the ride path because the passengers (or observing crowds) may have a point of view or line of sight that allows them to see the floor/platform and can quickly determine the true mode of movement.
Attempts to hide this slot or gap in the floor or platform have not been particularly effective. Some ride or show designs will place a pair of brushes or rubber or metal plates within the gap, but these brushes are typically only useful for limiting debris from falling through the gap because a viewer can see the edges of the gap and also the brushes themselves, which gives away the gap in the platform and a path that a vehicle or show element will follow. In other cases, the space below the vehicle or show element is kept dark or lowly illuminated compared with other nearby spaces, but this limits the design of the show or ride and is not useful in many settings such as outdoor venues where natural lighting may be quite bright. Other solutions involve limiting the line of sight to the slot such as by arrangement of passenger seats to urge passengers to look away from the platform, but this is only of limited value as observers outside the vehicles (such as passengers in a line to board the vehicles) can still see the slot in the platform or the passengers themselves may still look around and under the vehicle.
Hence, there remains a need for improved ways to disguise or even hide the existence of support and/or drive features of amusement park rides and of track-based show elements. Preferably, the devices used would reduce visible signs of slots in a platform and of supporting rods extending out from the platform. Further, it may be desirable for the devices to be presented in plain sight of all observers or at least those in or viewing the supported object (e.g., passenger vehicle or robotic show/display element), and, in such cases, the devices preferably would be useful in a scenic environment (be themed to the set of the show or ride) in a natural or organic manner.